QB Tate out for UCLA game
The saga of Khalil Tate’s left ankle continues.
The junior quarterback hurt the ankle early in Week 2 against Houston, an injury that has contributed to — but isn’t completely responsible for — his unusually low rushing total (112 yards) after a 1,411-yard season on the ground. And now the situation is worse.
Tate played only two series in Friday night’s 42-10 loss at Utah, leaving the game after linebacker Chase Hanson landed on the ankle after making a sack.
Arizona coach Kevin Sumlin announced Tuesday on the Pac-12 coaches teleconference with the media that Tate is out this week. Sophomore Rhett Rodriguez will make his first career start when the Wildcats play at UCLA on Saturday night from the Rose Bowl.
The Bruins (1-5, 1-2 Pac-12) beat Cal 37-7 last weekend for their first win under coach Chip Kelly. Arizona is 3-4 overall, 2-2 in the Pac-12.
Tate, under first-year Arizona coach Kevin Sumlin and new offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone, hasn’t developed into the Heisman candidate he looked like for part of last season while running the zone-read system of Rich Rodriguez.
The new staff has wanted him to be more of a pocket passer — which is a worthy goal — and Tate himself has been reluctant to scramble and improvise at times. Without Tate’s running threat, Arizona has been only modestly successful through the air, with Tate completing 95-of-178 passes for 1,415 yards, with 11 touchdowns and four interceptions. His numbers are inflated by a big effort against FCS school Southern Utah.
Rhett Rodriguez, the son of the former coach Rich Rodriguez, will be backed up by true freshman Jamarye Joiner, a dual threat who played two series after Tate’s injury Friday night. He was then replaced by Rodriguez for a two-minute drill at the end of the first half.
Rodriguez then finished the game, completing 20-of-38 passes for 226 yards and one touchdown as Utah cruised following a 28-0 halftime lead.
“I thought he did a nice job in a very, very difficult situation — being down, being on the road,” Sumlin said. “He looked very, very comfortable and poised throughout that time. I just felt like Rhett was doing as good a job as anybody could do at that point, and he continued to play.”